First Drive

What is it?

Renault’s Twizy isn’t a type of vehicle I’ve driven before – or indeed any of us have driven before. It’s just over two metres long and one wide, has unassisted steering, skinny 125/80 R13 front tyres and 145/80s at the back. And it’s powered by batteries.

The nearest comparison is BMW’s C1 scooter-with-a-roof, but the Twizy has a steering wheel and foot-operated accelerator and brakes. Car drivers will feel at home. I’m strapped in by a combination of a conventional seatbelt and an additional diagonal belt from the other side of the vehicle. There are no doors on these prototypes, but the production cars will be available either with simple beams that open and close, or beams with lower panels to keep spray out.

What’s it like?

Top speed from the 20bhp electric motor is 50mph. That’s enough for a vehicle that’s likely to be used exclusively in towns, as is the claimed range of 60 miles. All-up weight, including batteries, is 450kg. Driven solo, the Twizy’s acceleration feels sprightly, and quicker to the senses than it probably is in physical terms, if only because of the open sides and the directness of all the controls.

The gung-ho Renault test driver we’re following flings his Twizy into the first corner. I do the same, preparing to lean to counteract any two-wheeling. Instead, there’s a fair bit of understeer; with 100kg of batteries under the driver’s backside and barely any weight higher than a couple of feet up, the Twizy swoops around corners.

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The track we’re on is super-smooth but the unsprung weight should be low, so ride quality on more challenging surfaces is likely to be good. These really are prototypes with crude plastic panels not properly attached to the Twizy’s frame; there’s a bit of banging and crashing from them that should be gone by the time proper production parts are used.

Should I buy one?

Renault claims it has received four times more interest in the Twizy than it has in its conventional EVs. The beauty of the Twizy, apart from its sense of fun, is that it doesn’t try to be anything other than an urban runabout. There won’t be tales of Twizys running out of juice on motorways because no one will try to use one for over-ambitious journeys.

The Twizy isn’t the only electric car that I’ve enjoyed driving, but it’s the only one I could imagine owning. Just for the fun of it.

Join the debate

It looks like it might be a hoot to drive, at least on short journey's. I think the funky styling certainly adds to the appeal and if more manufacturers recognized this, the more popular EVs and hybrids will become. The Prius looks slightly unconventional, if a little frumpy - such a shame it doesn't look sexier, but I don't think that's a Toyota strength. If someone is paying for new technology, they want the world to notice. Here in Australia, where I live, they make a locally - built, hybrid Toyota Camry which looks almost identical to every other Camry, except for a tiny badge. I think this is a huge marketing mistake and, judging by how few I've seen on the road, it's not going to be the success they expected it to be. I think Renault with their Twizy, Zoe etc., are on the right track - make sure that cars with advanced new technology actually look high tech and futuristic. Apple made this apparent years ago - new technology doesn't sell itself, it must be beautiful and exciting to make it truly successful. So, I'm keen to buy a Twizy one day, it'll be great little commuter car for my wife and I, although I'm not quite sure where the dog or the shopping is going to go.

[quote ou701]I think the funky styling certainly adds to the appeal[/quote]I agree. With the added weight any modern battery pack adds to a car, a design unique to an EV becomes essential, one that reduces the constituent parts of a vehicle to the minimum. Weight will reduce travelling distance, as will cold climates, such as the UK.

That's why I think Renault are on the right path with their ultra-radical designs, and Smart (for example) is not. An EV Smart Crossblade is a better bet for added miles. However, EV design surely must match the most elegant vehicle to gain maximum acceptance, although I could be wrong. Dyson, like master architect Rogers with his inside-out buildings, proves a product made essentially out of plastic can discard streamlining, its inards as its carapace, yet still sell in its thousands.

Now I am not usually a fan of EV's but this appeals. The projected price is right, the styling is right and the concept is right. It comes across as an iPad of a car - desirable, useful but never something you expect you are going to use for big work.

It is an ideal car to ease people in to the whole EV way of thinking without giving them any false expectations (something I believe the current "conventional" style cars do).

Just one question though, will it be available with some sort of weather gear?

[quote PhilM4000]This would be an almost no cost to run 3rd car[/quote]

Industry doubtless feels the need to boost turnover but society ought to be looking for ways to replace conventional cars with smaller cleaner ones not give people an excuse to buy additional ones. That said, I like this and would give it a go if I lived an urban life - although I'd be extremely loathe to leave a car parked in London which didn't have doors. What's to stop oiks vandalising it, worse oiks peeing or puking in it, and tramps from dossing down in it? Other than the smell of pee and puke, obviously.